The Light of Paris

By: Eleanor Brown

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

“I adored The Light of Paris. It’s so lovely and big-hearted—it made me long for Paris.”—Jojo Moyes, New York Times-bestselling author of Me Before You and After You

The miraculous novel from the New York Times–bestselling author of The Weird Sisters—a sensation beloved by critics and readers alike.

Madeleine is trapped—by her family's expectations, by her controlling husband, and by her own fears—in an unhappy marriage and a life she never wanted. From the outside, it looks like she has everything, but on the inside, she fears she has nothing that matters.

In Madeleine’s memories, her grandmother Margie is the kind of woman she should have been—elegant, reserved, perfect. But when Madeleine finds a diary detailing Margie’s bold, romantic trip to Jazz Age Paris, she meets the grandmother she never knew: a dreamer who defied her strict, staid family and spent an exhilarating summer writing in cafés, living on her own, and falling for a charismatic artist.

Despite her unhappiness, when Madeleine’s marriage is threatened, she panics, escaping to her hometown and staying with her critical, disapproving mother. In that unlikely place, shaken by the revelation of a long-hidden family secret and inspired by her grandmother’s bravery, Madeleine creates her own Parisian summer—reconnecting to her love of painting, cultivating a vibrant circle of creative friends, and finding a kindred spirit in a down-to-earth chef who reminds her to feed both her body and her heart.

Margie and Madeleine’s stories intertwine to explore the joys and risks of living life on our own terms, of defying the rules that hold us back from our dreams, and of becoming the people we are meant to be.

Critic reviews

“A trip to Paris may be the quickest way for a heroine to change her life…Warmhearted.”—The Washington Post

“Fresh, endearing…finely written and absorbing, and explores the always compelling questions of how to balance reality and romance, duty and dreams, family and freedom.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune

“A story about love, marriage, divorce, self-discovery and how things often turn out far from what you had planned.”—Fort Worth Star Telegram

“The follow-up to Brown’s delightful dysfunctional-family comedy The Weird Sisters will cure your stay-at-home blues.”—Miami Herald

“Brown’s novel tackles an age-old question about what life would be like if we took more chances….Makes readers sit up and take notice.”—RT Book Reviews

“Brown conveys the importance of the arts in creating a life as well the need to heed all voices, even those from the past, in looking to the future.”—Kirkus Reviews

“A charming novel about living life on your own terms that will make you long for the streets of Paris.”—Popsugar.com

“I adored The Light of Paris. It’s so lovely and big-hearted—it made me long for Paris.”—Jojo Moyes, New York Times-bestselling author of Me Before You and After You

“Eleanor Brown is high priestess of that rich place where soulfulness and emotional insight meet laugh-out-loud humor. In her wry and affecting follow-up to The Weird Sisters, we meet Margie and Madeleine—two women separated by decades and continents, but on same essential journey toward self-exploration and self-knowledge. Somehow each must learn to thrust off others’ expectations and their own well-worn fears to reclaim themselves and discover the lives they were always meant for. A deeply rewarding read, The Light of Paris will keep you thinking—and smiling—long after the last page is turned.”—Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife and Circling the Sun

“Paris is always a good idea. It's not just a line from an old movie, it's a credo, and the underlying idea of Eleanor Brown's wise and charming new novel, The Light of Paris. Protagonist Madeleine Spencer is repressed, depressed and downright oppressed in her marriage to a chilly Chicago businessman. When she flees both to her Southern hometown her critical mother is less than welcoming. It's only when Madeleine opens a dusty trunk in the attic of the family home and finds her grandmother Margie's forgotten Parisian diary that Madeleine begins to find her way home--both emotionally and physically. The Light of Paris is a warm and illuminating novel of great hope and heart.”—Mary Kay Andrews, New York Times-bestselling author of Beach Town and Ladies’ Night

A sweet love story.

A little slow to begin with but the story line came together and caught my interest. A
story that remins us just how much life for women has changrd and perhaps men as well.

Parallel stories of security versus freedom

The Light of Paris follows the parallel stories of Margie in post WWI Paris and her granddaughter, Madeleine in contemporary America. The book looks at the questions of security and conformity versus living the life your spirit wants to live. I loved both characters and could identify with both their dreams and their choices in life. And there's the point--it all comes down to choices. What a wonderful book. I wish it could've gone on longer.

I hadn't realized that Eleanor Brown, the author, was also the author of The Weird Sisters--another of my favorite books. Such well-drawn characters and a compelling story. Loved every second of it.

Oui! Grand mère!

I loved Margie's story. She was such a fascinating character. I did not want to put her story away to read Madeline's. Margie makes one long for Paris in the 1920s. I want to know more about her.

What a drag of a read

Boring, repetitive whining and self pity for the whole book. Two full generations of whining. Aghhh. Allow me to repeat. Aghhh

A beautiful book!

I truly enjoyed this novel. It's not an easy thing to jump back and forth between old characters of the past and current characters in the present, but this author does a fantastic job of it. I was just as interested in listening to Madeline's parts as I was Margie's parts, and vice versa. I adored the descriptions of 1920s Paris, and the love story entertwined throughout the book made for great family drama and romance. If I had any critique of the story, it's that Madeline's character was a little tough to swallow. It was hard get behind a character who was so mousy and felt so much insecurity and self-loathing. I didn't think she was anything like her grandmother, who was brave and independent and who understood her physical flaws without hating them or being a doormat. I enjoy strong characters much more than weak ones. All in all, though, it was a great listen. Cassandra Campbell did a fantastic job, as always. Amazing how she pulls off a male French accent flawlessly.